Earth Day and
the complexity of care.
“Ever mindful what it cost; Ever grateful for the prize…”
~ Joseph Hopkinson.
Every April showers us with special events and holidays. There’s Publicity Stunt Week, Straw Hat Week, National Reading a Road Map Week, National Coin Tasting Week (ya’… really!), Argue About Gun Safety Week (did I already say “ya’…really?), National Bubblegum Week, National Lingerie Week and the not-to-be-forgotten Egg Salad Week. But squished into the tail end of the month is just one day devoted to our planet… Earth Day. Just 1/365th solitary moment in the whole expanse of a year devoted to the place we all call home. Not even a month or a week, just a day.
Well, the truth be told, Earth “Day” gets even a bit more confusing because with the same name but two different dates on the calendar, the United Nations has Earth Day penned into their agenda for late March but the rest of us global citizens celebrate it officially on April 22nd. In any event, I suppose we should be grateful that there are actually two days a year dedicated to arouse our sensitivity for our delicate mother-ship, planet Earth.
The United Nation’s date (the 21st of March) is when we mark the beginning of the Vernal Equinox by welcoming in the first signs of spring—early bulbs breaking through the thawing ground, though often left to survive the dangers and unpredictability of foreboding late snow flurries and frost. Ever-hopeful, the days begin to grow longer, and nature begins to stir from under the four-month long frozen blanket of winter.
The lifelong activist and Earth Day founder, John McConnell, believed that love and prayer were more powerful than the destructive nature of man, and suggested his dream of Earth Day at a UNESCO Conference on the Environment in 1969. In hopes of celebrating the Earth's life and beauty, McConnell created the Earth Day Proclamation for Global Awareness, detailing mankind’s responsibility for stewarding, cleaning and preserving our planet for future generations.
In 1970, the April 22nd event that ultimately blossomed into the more widely recognized Earth Day, was founded by seeds originally planted by Senator Gaylord Nelson. Using activist tactics, he organized huge college grass-root protests over what he saw happening to the environment. With only limited media coverage to get the ball rolling, 20 million demonstrators, and thousands of schools and local communities participated, with each year bringing greater and greater awareness and activity to the issue.
But regardless of when it is celebrated, whenever I hear the name “Earth Day,” what first comes to mind for me is the word “care.” And interestingly, “care” is one of those rare words that implies the notion of both “giving” and “taking.”
Let me explain.
We can “give care” or we can “take care.” (And it’s easy to confuse the two but they are really very different things.) By “taking care” we lose ourselves in private, thoughtful, reflective, and introspective, self-preservation. By “giving care” we offer help, aid or support to those around us—an external activity. Both are equally important, for without taking care, we have no care to offer.
So let’s all “take care” on Earth Day 2008 to “give care” to those we love, to our communities, to our cities, to our states, to our country, to our planet. Sounds like a huge undertaking, no? Well, in reality it can all begin with the simplest of activities that you were probably going to do anyway: Spring Cleaning. (It’s what you do in spring, isn’t it?)
Only this year, I am suggesting that we mix things up a bit—literally and figuratively. Instead of unconsciously reaching for those expensive, toxic products locked away under the kitchen sink, let’s be more mindful of the effects of our actions. I propose that this year, we make a clean sweep by using some safe and wholesome ingredients you probably already have around the house to create healthy, non-toxic cleaning recipes that are equally, if not more effective! It might come as a surprise, but commercial cleaning products—you know, the ones that are made “new and improved” on a yearly basis—are actually only a modern, and highly successful, 20th Century marketing "convenience.” Prior to the technologies of the Industrial Revolution, the means to produce mass-market pre-mixed cleansers didn’t exist. And while I am no Troglodyte, and actually enjoy many of the benefits of modern conveniences and technologies, I do try to use those that are helpful and life affirming, and opt for healthier alternatives to those that I know are harmful and life-threatening.
OK—so back to Spring Cleaning. First, let’s clean the windows and let all that glorious springtime daylight fill your home. Wipe away the winter grime with a simple but highly effective solution of one teaspoon of white vinegar added to a re-cycled spray bottle filled with warm water. Squirt it on and wipe it off with re-cycled newspaper, and you’ll be amazed at how shiny your windows (and mirrors) will be. And your entire bottle of new glass cleaner cost you only about $.02, to boot! (Remember, the price of store-bought cleansers takes into account the costs of advertising, shipping, packaging, supermarket real estate, etc.—while a simple bottle of white vinegar costs under $1.00 and can last over a year.)
Next, by mixing one cup of baking soda, one cup of borax (yes, it’s still made and you’ll find it in the laundry detergent section of your grocery store), and a pinch of table salt, you’ll easily create a gentle, non-toxic bathroom and kitchen cleanser that works great. Sprinkle it on, give it a good scrubbing and rinse it clean with warm water. And here’s my favorite tip: if you use the cut side of a half a lemon as your scrubber, you’ll have the added benefit of that wonderful, natural, fresh citrusy scent.
Remember, whatever you use to clean your windows, mirrors, sinks, bathtubs, showers or toilets—either these homemade recipes or those store-bought chemicals—all gets washed down the drain and into the ground water. The only difference is that these easy, non-toxic recipes don’t pollute and aren’t harmful to the flora and fauna of our lakes, streams and oceans—and you won’t even have to use rubber gloves while cleaning because they’re so gentle. Plus, your family and pets won’t be exposed to air-bound chemicals or toxic residues.
Your house will not only shine and smell fresh, but Mother Earth will thank you because you’ve just taken the first step towards grass roots environmentalism! Everything in the glass cleaner and all-purpose cleanser you just used is chemical free, not to mention costing next to nothing as well! Store-bought cleaning products are a poisonous, chemical nightmare. The list of their side effects to children, adults and pets are mind numbing. And when those pollutants leave your home, they join forces with the pollutants leaving all your neighbors’ homes. Collectively they wreak havoc on our environment, and according to the Environmental Protection Agency, all those expensive, fancy “new and improved” commercial products are the number one pollutant we know of—harmful to animal and plant life.
So I suggest that this year, we all not only celebrate Earth Day by taking care of others, and ourselves but by also offering care. Former Soviet President Gorbachev once suggested that it took only 5% of the leadership of Russia to create Perestroika. Just imagine what a “caring” 5% of the population could offer right here and right now to make an environmental difference locally and globally.
At least for just this one-day, show the world not only that you care,
the complexity of care.
“Ever mindful what it cost; Ever grateful for the prize…”
~ Joseph Hopkinson.
Every April showers us with special events and holidays. There’s Publicity Stunt Week, Straw Hat Week, National Reading a Road Map Week, National Coin Tasting Week (ya’… really!), Argue About Gun Safety Week (did I already say “ya’…really?), National Bubblegum Week, National Lingerie Week and the not-to-be-forgotten Egg Salad Week. But squished into the tail end of the month is just one day devoted to our planet… Earth Day. Just 1/365th solitary moment in the whole expanse of a year devoted to the place we all call home. Not even a month or a week, just a day.
Well, the truth be told, Earth “Day” gets even a bit more confusing because with the same name but two different dates on the calendar, the United Nations has Earth Day penned into their agenda for late March but the rest of us global citizens celebrate it officially on April 22nd. In any event, I suppose we should be grateful that there are actually two days a year dedicated to arouse our sensitivity for our delicate mother-ship, planet Earth.
The United Nation’s date (the 21st of March) is when we mark the beginning of the Vernal Equinox by welcoming in the first signs of spring—early bulbs breaking through the thawing ground, though often left to survive the dangers and unpredictability of foreboding late snow flurries and frost. Ever-hopeful, the days begin to grow longer, and nature begins to stir from under the four-month long frozen blanket of winter.
The lifelong activist and Earth Day founder, John McConnell, believed that love and prayer were more powerful than the destructive nature of man, and suggested his dream of Earth Day at a UNESCO Conference on the Environment in 1969. In hopes of celebrating the Earth's life and beauty, McConnell created the Earth Day Proclamation for Global Awareness, detailing mankind’s responsibility for stewarding, cleaning and preserving our planet for future generations.
In 1970, the April 22nd event that ultimately blossomed into the more widely recognized Earth Day, was founded by seeds originally planted by Senator Gaylord Nelson. Using activist tactics, he organized huge college grass-root protests over what he saw happening to the environment. With only limited media coverage to get the ball rolling, 20 million demonstrators, and thousands of schools and local communities participated, with each year bringing greater and greater awareness and activity to the issue.
But regardless of when it is celebrated, whenever I hear the name “Earth Day,” what first comes to mind for me is the word “care.” And interestingly, “care” is one of those rare words that implies the notion of both “giving” and “taking.”
Let me explain.
We can “give care” or we can “take care.” (And it’s easy to confuse the two but they are really very different things.) By “taking care” we lose ourselves in private, thoughtful, reflective, and introspective, self-preservation. By “giving care” we offer help, aid or support to those around us—an external activity. Both are equally important, for without taking care, we have no care to offer.
So let’s all “take care” on Earth Day 2008 to “give care” to those we love, to our communities, to our cities, to our states, to our country, to our planet. Sounds like a huge undertaking, no? Well, in reality it can all begin with the simplest of activities that you were probably going to do anyway: Spring Cleaning. (It’s what you do in spring, isn’t it?)
Only this year, I am suggesting that we mix things up a bit—literally and figuratively. Instead of unconsciously reaching for those expensive, toxic products locked away under the kitchen sink, let’s be more mindful of the effects of our actions. I propose that this year, we make a clean sweep by using some safe and wholesome ingredients you probably already have around the house to create healthy, non-toxic cleaning recipes that are equally, if not more effective! It might come as a surprise, but commercial cleaning products—you know, the ones that are made “new and improved” on a yearly basis—are actually only a modern, and highly successful, 20th Century marketing "convenience.” Prior to the technologies of the Industrial Revolution, the means to produce mass-market pre-mixed cleansers didn’t exist. And while I am no Troglodyte, and actually enjoy many of the benefits of modern conveniences and technologies, I do try to use those that are helpful and life affirming, and opt for healthier alternatives to those that I know are harmful and life-threatening.
OK—so back to Spring Cleaning. First, let’s clean the windows and let all that glorious springtime daylight fill your home. Wipe away the winter grime with a simple but highly effective solution of one teaspoon of white vinegar added to a re-cycled spray bottle filled with warm water. Squirt it on and wipe it off with re-cycled newspaper, and you’ll be amazed at how shiny your windows (and mirrors) will be. And your entire bottle of new glass cleaner cost you only about $.02, to boot! (Remember, the price of store-bought cleansers takes into account the costs of advertising, shipping, packaging, supermarket real estate, etc.—while a simple bottle of white vinegar costs under $1.00 and can last over a year.)
Next, by mixing one cup of baking soda, one cup of borax (yes, it’s still made and you’ll find it in the laundry detergent section of your grocery store), and a pinch of table salt, you’ll easily create a gentle, non-toxic bathroom and kitchen cleanser that works great. Sprinkle it on, give it a good scrubbing and rinse it clean with warm water. And here’s my favorite tip: if you use the cut side of a half a lemon as your scrubber, you’ll have the added benefit of that wonderful, natural, fresh citrusy scent.
Remember, whatever you use to clean your windows, mirrors, sinks, bathtubs, showers or toilets—either these homemade recipes or those store-bought chemicals—all gets washed down the drain and into the ground water. The only difference is that these easy, non-toxic recipes don’t pollute and aren’t harmful to the flora and fauna of our lakes, streams and oceans—and you won’t even have to use rubber gloves while cleaning because they’re so gentle. Plus, your family and pets won’t be exposed to air-bound chemicals or toxic residues.
Your house will not only shine and smell fresh, but Mother Earth will thank you because you’ve just taken the first step towards grass roots environmentalism! Everything in the glass cleaner and all-purpose cleanser you just used is chemical free, not to mention costing next to nothing as well! Store-bought cleaning products are a poisonous, chemical nightmare. The list of their side effects to children, adults and pets are mind numbing. And when those pollutants leave your home, they join forces with the pollutants leaving all your neighbors’ homes. Collectively they wreak havoc on our environment, and according to the Environmental Protection Agency, all those expensive, fancy “new and improved” commercial products are the number one pollutant we know of—harmful to animal and plant life.
So I suggest that this year, we all not only celebrate Earth Day by taking care of others, and ourselves but by also offering care. Former Soviet President Gorbachev once suggested that it took only 5% of the leadership of Russia to create Perestroika. Just imagine what a “caring” 5% of the population could offer right here and right now to make an environmental difference locally and globally.
At least for just this one-day, show the world not only that you care,
but how you care.
For Earth Day Festivities I’m having book-signing events with Macy's on April 22nd at the Roosevelt Field Mall on Long Island and again on Saturday April 26th at the Herald Square Macy's on 34th Street in Manhattan.
I hope you'll stop by!
Michael De Jong, is the author of “CLEAN: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing,” (www.zencleansing.com) produced by Joost Elffers Design and published in 2007 by Sterling Publishers. He lives in Jersey City with his partner, dog and three (now four) goldfish, all of which benefit from his natural cleaning techniques. De Jong, who cleaned apartments in New York City while working as a fine artist, began researching and inventing many of the recipes in “CLEAN” because of his own allergic reactions to commercial cleaning products, and he is continually experimenting with safe, effective and eco-friendly alternatives. Raised in the mid-West by a family that valued the environment and re-cycled before it was fashionable, his quest for non-toxic solutions comes naturally to him. He is currently writing a companion series of “CLEAN” books dealing with such topics as the body, first aid, organization, and food, as well as posting a weekly Blog on www.thedailygreen.com. “CLEAN: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing” can be purchased at Barnes & Noble stores across the country or on-line at www.barnesandnoble.com or www.amazon.com. Take the “zen-cleansing” quiz at Latitude U. www.latitudeu.com
Please consider the environment.
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